Women’s mental health is a topic of major concern owing to the fact that most women undergo major transformation through their life. It is important to remember that there are several types of mental health concerns that affect women all over the world. While some people only struggle with one, others encounter multiple. The mental health of a person can affect many aspects of one’s daily life – and this might as well go unnoticed. In this article, we will dive deeper into the different types of mental health problems in women and how you to deal with them.
Common Mental Health Problems in Women
Following are the list of common mental health issues faced by women in general:
1. Depression
Among the various other mental health issues, depression is more common in women. Women experience depression more as compared to men.
The various symptoms of depression commonly found in women are crying frequently, feeling lonely, weight loss, and getting irritated/angry easily. They no longer have any kind of energy to do anything or enjoy any activity. A few people even get the urge to hurt themselves when they are depressed. According to studies, older people are more prone to depression and the ones who go through a difficult social life. Depression in women also makes them cranky and irritated quite often and that too without any proper reason.
2. Anxiety
A lot of women experience anxiety differently in their life. Anxiety is normally caused due to stress. But when it starts affecting your regular life and work, then it becomes a serious concern. Anxiety disorder is a common mental health issue that affects women’s mental health.
Hormonal changes at the time of menstruation, and traumatic events like sexual assault and abuse may cause anxiety disorder in women. Sometimes, it happens because of genetics; anxiety can get transferred through genes.
There are a few different forms of anxiety issues seen in women like Generalized Anxiety disorder, which happens when someone starts stressing about daily life problems such as family, health, or work. Another one is Panic disorder, which happens when women feel that they are freaking out or losing control over something.
The most common issues found among women who are suffering from anxiety are stomach pain, nausea, increased heart rate, feeling weak frequently, lack of concentration, feeling nervous/tense, sleeping issues, and so on.
3. Perinatal Depression
Perinatal Depression affects women’s mental health after or during pregnancy. It is a very common type of mental health issue seen in women. Genetics and environmental factors play a vital role in causing perinatal depression. Pregnancy involves so much physical as well as lifestyle change at a single time, which may be uncomfortable and thus lead to perinatal depression.
During pregnancy, women face a lot of mood fluctuations. The various signs visible in women once they suffer from perinatal depression are lack of focus, nausea, feeling tired all the time, and so on.
4. Eating Disorders
In women, eating disorders are far more prevalent. It can be of different types and it cannot be treated easily. The various forms of eating disorders that can affect women’s mental health are Anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and Bulimia nervosa. Various factors that cause eating disorders in women are stress, childhood obesity, and hormonal changes. Women having anxiety and depression often face eating disorders.
Women with eating disorders mainly start avoiding meals, losing weight, start doing too much exercise, dieting, suffer with diabetes, etc.
5. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Women who have experienced any kind of traumatic, scary, or shocking events in their life tend to have post-traumatic stress disorder. Things that may cause post-traumatic stress syndrome within females are sexual assault, the sudden death of any close person, or any accident.
The symptoms that are often noticed among women who suffer from PTSD are recurrence of the unwanted past traumatic incidents, flashbacks of those memories, nightmares, hallucinations, and so on. The intensity of this disorder varies according to the type of incidents.
6. Postpartum Depression
Women suffer from postpartum depression after giving birth. It is a kind of mental disorder that involves physical, behavioral, and emotional changes. The reproductive hormones in women that are progesterone and estrogen rise during pregnancy and after giving birth, these hormones lower down, which causes this type of mental illness among women.
Various signs of postpartum depression seen in women are frequent mood swings, insomnia, loss of appetite, and fatigue.
7. Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder is another mental health problem women face. Hormonal imbalance, emotional abuse, and many other things cause bipolar disorder in women. Symptoms and signs of bipolar disorder in women involve episodes of mania with symptoms such as feeling high, high energy levels, inability to sleep, getting distracted easily, some women may also experience depressive episode with symptom such as feeling low or sad, weight gain, losing interest in everything, lack of concentration, and many more.
Conclusion
Mental health disorders are a result of biological as well as social factors. Every woman faces at least one type of mental illness in their life. Mental health problems can affect both your personal and professional life. It affects how you act, think, or feel.
Women’s mental health problems should not be left unnoticed or untreated. If someone is not feeling well mentally, they should definitely consult with a medical professional and get the professional help they need.
